The Florida Panthers (40-22-3) pay a visit to the Toronto Maple Leafs (39-22-3) tonight at Scotiabank Arena with first place in the hotly-contested Atlantic Division on the line.
An uncharacteristic third period collapse turned what looked like a sure victory into defeat as the Panthers suffered a frustrating 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins Tuesday night at TD Garden that ended a six-game winning streak. Dmitry Kulikov and Mackie Samoskevich staked the Cats to a two-goal lead before the Bruins rallied with three goals in a 7:47 span of the third period. Oops…
The Maple Leafs are opening a four-game homestand after returning from a three-game stint out west which saw them drop games to the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche before they nipped the Utah Hockey Club 4-3 in a shootout on Monday. Toronto will looking to avenge a 5-1 loss to the Panthers in late November and regain the top spot in the division.
- WHEN: 7 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, ON
- ON THE TUBE: Scripps
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #LeafsForever, #FLAvsTOR, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: PPP Leafs
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 2 of 4 (1-0)
- LAST MEETING: @FLA 5, TOR 1 (Recap) – 11/27/2024
- NEXT MEETING: April 2, 2025
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (27-14-2 .907 / 2.51 4SO) Toronto: Stolarz (13-6-3 .921 / 2.33 1SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Toronto
Thursday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- BOSTON (30-28-8 68P) at OTTAWA (34-25-5 73P) 7 p.m.
- TAMPA BAY (37-23-4 78P) at Philadelphia (27-31-8 62P) 7 p.m.
Idle: MON (69P), DET (68P), BUF (56P)